St. Patrick’s Weekend
Hello dear Dublin Event Guide Follower!! ;-)
When I retired the weekly Dublin Event Guide newsletter in December, I promised that this is not the end of the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events), but that there will still be updates on Facebook and also e-mails every so often when there are big events and as far as big events go, this weekend is definitely quite high up there.
Not every body is celebrating the St. Patrick’s Weekend in the same way. If you are of a “certain age”, well settled in Ireland and if the weather was ok, then you might be more inclined to go to B&Q and Woodies to get the plants for the garden than to go to the city centre for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. But there is something for everyone if you WANT to celebrate and here are some of the free events, I would recommend.
The St. Patrick’s Weekend officially started already on Thursday, but if you are only joining today, you won’t have missed tooo much. There are a few changes to previous years and I will capture all this here so let’s go:
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Saturday Events (16 March)
+ Festival Village
What was the one-day event “The Big Day Out” in and around Merrion Square, is this year a 3-day long family-friendly “Festival Village” from 12:00-18:00 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday also at Merrion Square. There will be live music, street theatre, circus and science shows, children’s readings, talks, a Gaeltacht area and lots of food stalls with food from all over the world. Admission is free. A full schedule can be downloaded here.
+ Céilí Mór
A Céilí is an Irish Dance event and “Mór” means big, so this is a BIG Irish Dancing event. It runs from 13:00-15:00 outdoors at
Merrion Square East and is for everyone. If you have never tried Irish Dancing, you will be taught the steps and if you know it well, you can help others to learn the steps or just show them how it is done. It is a bilingual event that celebrates traditional Irish
dance, language and music. There will be live music by the Matt Cunningham Band and the event will be lead by former Riverdancer Dearbhla Lennon. Admission is free.www.stpatricksfestival.ie/events/event/ceili_mor
+ U-Fest
While St. Patrick’s Festival is an Irish Festival for everybody, U-Fest is a MULTIcultural festival for everybody and it happens on the same weekend. There will be music, dance, poetry, workshops, games and food. It will all happen in Mulhuddert Community
Centre, Church Road, Dublin 15 from 11:00-18:00 and admission is free. More information can be found here: www.facebook.com/ufestint/
 
+ Sing Out Loud – A Choral Trail in the City
From 11:00-17:00, five choirs will appear at 10 sing-a-long performances in a variety of locations in the City Center (National Gallery, Heuston Station, Jervis Shopping Centre, Meeting House Square, Merrion Square etc.) on a choral trail. The full schedule
can be found here.
+ Marsh’s Library Open Day
The 300 year old Marsh’s Library at St. Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8, just next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral is inviting to free 30 minute tours between 10:00 and 17:00. Hear stories from some of Ireland’s greatest writers including Jonathan Swift and James Joyce and see books with bullet holes from when the reading room was hit by machine-gun fire during the Easter Rising of 1916. Some more information is here.
+ Finest Minds: Actor Liam Cunningham – In conversation with Jim Carroll
Jim Carroll, host of the Banter series of public interviews, will talk to actor Liam Cunningham, best known for his role as Davos Seaworth in the fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Music performances by Fehdah, a future-afro soul vocalist, songwriter and
electro-soul performer and also Eve Belle, singer/songwriter from Donegal. Admission is free, but booking is required. Details and the link to book tickets are here.
+ Through the City – Singing Session
Ian Drew and friends will host and perform at this traditional Irish singing session in McNeills Pub, 140 Capel Street, Dublin 1
from 21:00. Admission is free and all details are here.
+ Exhibitions
– Made Ground (10:00-18:30) in Green on Red Gallery, Park Lane, Dublin 1. The 30 minute video on loop is a collaboration between artists Eva Richardson McCrea, Frank Sweeney and the Dublin Dockworkers Preservation Society (DDWPS) and tells the history of the Dublin Docks and the people that worked there.
+ City at Play Funfair
This year, there is only one Funfair at the St. Patrick’s Festival. It is at Custom House Quay and is open from 11:00-21:00. Funfair rides are not free, as you can imagine, But it’s something to do after the parade and if you just watch other people flying through the air, then it is free. ;-)
Sunday Events (17 March)
On Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day and in the past this day featured the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and not much else. This year, the Festival Village at Merrion Square continues also on Sunday and Monday. A good decision!
+ St. Patrick’s Festival Parade
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin starts at 12:00 at Parnell Square and then goes down O’Connell Street, Westmoreland Street, Dame Street, Lord Edward Street, then towards St. Patrick’s Cathedral and finally it turns into Kevin Street where it ends
at the junction with Aungier Street/Wexford Street. This is an extension of the previous parade route and it was sooo necessary. The crowds in O’Connell Street and Dame Street make it impossible to see the parade unless you are there REALLY early. So you might have a better chance to see anything in Patrick Street or Kevin Street.
I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade anymore. After having seen it for the last 6 years or so, the only thing that still draws me a little are the outstanding Marching Bands that take part. (This year you should look out for the Panther Marching Band from the University of Northern Iowa.) For the pageant companies there is a theme every year, but the
theme is sooo general that it covers just anything. This year he theme is “Storytelling”. Could it be less specific?
(There is also a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Swords from 11:00 on Sunday.
+ Festival Village
You are in town for the parade and wonder what to do afterwards? Go to the family-friendly “Festival Village” from 14:00-18:00 on Sunday at Merrion Square. There will be live music, street theatre, circus and science shows, children’s readings, talks, a
Gaeltacht area and lots of food stalls with food from all over the world. Admission is free. A full schedule can be downloaded here.
+ City at Play Funfair
This year, there is only one Funfair at the St. Patrick’s Festival. It is at Custom House Quay and is open from 11:00-21:00. Funfair rides are not free, as you can imagine, But it’s something to do after the parade and if you just watch other people flying through the air, then it is free. ;-)
+ Exhibitions
A number of exhibitions will take place over this weekend as well and here is a summary:
– New Irish Works: Contemporary Photography From Ireland (12:00-18:00 at the Library Project, 4 Temple Bar, Dublin 2) run by PhotoIreland Foundation.
– Eamonn Doyle – Irish Contemporary Photography (11:00-17:00 at the Royal Hibernian Academy, 15 Ely Place,
Dublin 2)
– Made Ground (10:00-18:30) in Green on Red Gallery, Park Lane, Dublin 1. The 30 minute video on loop is a collaboration between artists Eva Richardson McCrea, Frank Sweeney and the Dublin Dockworkers Preservation Society (DDWPS) and
tells the history of the Dublin Docks and the people that worked there.
Monday Events (18 March)
The last day of this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival is on Monday and Monday is also a bank holiday because if a bank holiday falls on a weekend day (this year the 17 March is on a Sunday) then we don’t lose out, but we get a day off work on the following Monday. Hurray! ;-)
+ Festival Village
The Festival Village continues for one more day. It is a family-friendly day from 12:00-18:00 at Merrion Square. There will be live music, street theatre, circus and science shows, children’s readings, talks, a Gaeltacht area and lots of food stalls with food
from all over the world. Admission is free. A full schedule can be downloaded here.
+ St. Patrick’s Festival 5k Road Race
The yearly 5km road race is not a free event, but cheering on the runners is. ;-) The race starts (12:00) and finishes at St. Stephen’s Green near the Newman University Church and then goes up and down the streets between St. Stephen’s Green and the Grand Canal/Mespil Road (a map is here).
+ The Words That Bind Us – Poetry Trail
Poets from Ireland and Scotland come together on this Poetry Trail around Dublin. It starts at 13:00 at the Gutter Bookshop (Cow’s Lane, Dublin 2) and over the next 3 hours also stops at the Winding Stair, Books Upstairs, National Gallery and the International Bar. More details and a full schedule are here.
+ Exhibitions
A number of exhibitions will take place over this weekend as well and here is a summary:
– Made Ground (10:00-18:30) in Green on Red Gallery, Park Lane, Dublin 1. The 30 minute video on loop is a collaboration between artists Eva Richardson McCrea, Frank Sweeney and the Dublin Dockworkers Preservation Society (DDWPS) and tells the history of the Dublin Docks and the people that worked there.
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